The diplomatic battle over negotiations for a treaty banning the production of bomb making nuclear material will shift next week to the UN’s General Assembly in New York.
The GA’s First Committee on Disarmament and International Security will be the venue for renewed debate over how to get discussions started in the 65-member Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva on a Fissile Material Cut off Treaty (FMCT).
These discussions could set the stage and give a direction to what happens next year in the CD. For now Pakistan’s demand that the proposed treaty should include reduction of fissile material stockpiles and not just ban future production – a position supported by many nations – has halted talks in the world’s sole multilateral negotiating body on disarmament.
The upcoming debate in the First Committee will take place against the backdrop of a diplomatic climb down by the US, which had for the past year or more, been threatening to take the FMCT negotiations outside the CD if the stalemate persisted. More >>>
Location:Islamabad
